World Cup

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WORLD CUP - PAGE 4

SAO PAULO -- Luis Suarez emerged from a month of treatment on his injured knee to score both goals as Uruguay beat England 2-1 to keep his team's World Cup hopes alive and leave England's hanging by a thread on Thursday. Wayne Rooney hit the bar with a header in the first half but England looked badly off the pace, and the same loose marking that cost them dear against Italy in their first match allowed Suarez space to nod home Edinson Cavani's chipped cross after 39 minutes England equalized in the 75th minute when Rooney touched in a low Glen Johnson cross for his first-ever World Cup goal, but Suarez - the scourge of Premier League defenses all season - lashed in the winner in the 85th minute after England failed to deal with a length-of-the field punt by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

(Reuters) - England winger Andros Townsend will miss the World Cup after being ruled out for up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury, his club Tottenham Hotspur said on Wednesday. Townsend, who has five caps, will undergo surgery on his left ankle after picking up the injury during Tottenham's 1-0 Premier League victory over Stoke City on Saturday. "Following further examination and consultation, Andros Townsend is to undergo surgery on his left ankle after damaging ligaments during our fixture against Stoke City last Saturday," Tottenham said in a statement on their website "The injury is likely to sideline the young winger for up to 10 weeks.

(Reuters) - England coach Stuart Lancaster believes his team can win the World Cup on home soil next year following a successful Six Nations campaign. England missed out on the title on points difference to Ireland but won four games in a row after losing their opening match in France. "I've always believed that (we can win the World Cup) and I've believed it from minute one," Lancaster told reporters on Sunday. "It has been a steep curve and we have had to do it quickly," added Lancaster who took over as coach two years ago. "We have been through our period of transition.

If anyone ever doubted that Chicago is the true city of immigrants, the true city of tribes, just stand in Daley Plaza on Friday morning. The Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup victory parade will roll down Washington Street, the players holding up their hard-won and gorgeous Stanley Cup, the first one for the Hawks in 49 years. And as they pass the plaza, if they look over they'll see a World Cup viewing party hosted by the South African Consulate. The beautiful game, soccer, will be shown on the big TVs, with the opening contest between host nation South Africa and Mexico ending just as the parade rolls by, to be followed by France vs. Uruguay.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Moscow's Luzhniki stadium has been confirmed as the venue for the 2018 World Cup soccer final, FIFA said in a statement on Friday. The Luzhniki, which has a 90,000 capacity, will also stage the opening match and a semi-final following approval by FIFA's executive committee. St Petersburg will stage the other semi-final. Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi were approved as venues for the 2017 Confederations Cup, also to be held in Russia, FIFA said. In a separate decision, Kosovo, which is not a FIFA member, was given permission to play friendly matches at "youth, amateur, women's and club football" level.

By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Australia's Jason Day rode an emotional wave of crowd support to shoot a final round 70 and win the World Cup of Golf on Sunday by two strokes at Royal Melbourne after an enthralling duel with Danish runnerup Thomas Bjorn. Day, grieving the loss of eight relatives killed in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan, holed a nervy clutch putt for par on the par-four 16th to break a stroke clear of Bjorn and embraced his mother after rolling in the final putt on the 18th.

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil, Dec 3 (Reuters) - FIFA on Tuesday announced the following pots to be used for Friday's draw for next year's World Cup finals when the 32 teams will be placed into eight first-round groups of four. Pot 1 consists of the eight top seeds, one of each to be drawn in Groups A-H. The remaining pots are based on geographical criteria. Hosts Brazil will be allocated position A1 in the draw and will play the opening match in Sao Paulo on June 12. Pot 1 (top eight seeds)

LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who missed the last two months of the season after fracturing his foot, says he will be fit to play for England at the World Cup. The 22-year-old, who has won 15 caps, told Sky Sports that he had been training for the last six weeks and was over the injury he sustained playing for Arsenal against Stoke City on March 1. Asked if he was close to peak fitness, he replied: "I am... I have been training for a long time. I am yet to play a game, but I have been training for six weeks and I probably need a few games, but I am feeling good.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Lionel Messi is the figurehead of Brazil's arch-rivals Argentina, one of the teams with the potential to spoil the home team's dream of winning the World Cup next year. Yet Brazilians love Messi and his presence will be good for the tournament, the chief executive officer of Brazil's Local Organising Committee (LOC) told Reuters. "For us he is so important, he is unanimously admired in Brazil not only because of his football but also his behavior," Ricardo Trade said in an interview on a visit to Buenos Aires.